G.O.P. Cites Tax Cuts and Health Care as Main Focus

G.O.P. Cites Tax Cuts and Health Care as Main Focus
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: September 22, 2010



WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday will issue a legislative blueprint called “A Pledge to America” that they hope will catapult them to a majority in the November elections. Its goals include a permanent extension of all the Bush-era tax cuts, repeal of the newly enacted health care law, a cap on discretionary federal spending and an end to government control of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

With control of the House, the Republicans said they would seek to immediately cancel any unspent money from last year’s $787 billion economic stimulus program, to freeze the size of the “nonsecurity” federal work force, and to quickly cut $100 billion in discretionary spending. But the blueprint, with echoes of the 1994 Contract With America, does not specify how the spending reductions would be carried out.

While the agenda is drafted broadly, offering bullet points of overarching objectives rather than detailed proposals — and any legislation championed by Republicans in the next Congress, of course, could be subject to a veto by President Obama — the document represents the most concrete presentation of Republican goals so far this year. Aides said it was intended to show that the party was prepared to govern, and that in many cases legislation had already been drafted for many of the proposals in the plan, though specific bill numbers were not cited.

The blueprint was also clearly intended to provide fresh ideas to answer allegations by Mr. Obama and Democrats that Republicans simply want to return to the policies of the Bush administration. Still, many of the proposals represent classic Republican ideals of small government and low taxes pursued for generations by George W. Bush and other party leaders.

Among the specific policy points is a proposal to allow small businesses to take a new tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income. Aides said the proposal was first put forward as part of the Republican alternative to the Democrats’ economic stimulus plan, at a projected cost of $50 billion over 10 years.

While the document emphasizes a goal of long-term fiscal stability, including reductions in the deficit and a “path to a balanced budget,” it offers no specifics about changes to big entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare, that would be required to achieve such stability.

In the document, to be officially unveiled at a news conference at a hardware store and lumberyard in Sterling, Va., House Republican leaders also seek to seize on the anger and frustration that many voters seem to feel about Washington these days.

“In a self-governing society, the only bulwark against the power of the state is the consent of the governed, and regarding the policies of the current government, the governed do not consent,” the Republicans wrote in the introduction. “An unchecked executive, a compliant legislature and an overreaching judiciary have combined to thwart the will of the people.”

Promising to “honor the Constitution as constructed by its framers,” the Republicans added: “We pledge to advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity, a robust defense and national economic prosperity. We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.”

The introduction to the blueprint also stresses the need to improve the economy and create jobs. “Rising joblessness, crushing debt and a polarizing political environment are fraying the bonds among our people,” the Republicans wrote, adding a nod to states’ rights.

“With this document,” they wrote, “we pledge to dedicate ourselves to the task of reconnecting our highest aspirations to the permanent truths of our founding by keeping faith with the values our nation was founded on, the principles we stand for, and the priorities of our people. This is our Pledge to America.”

Republicans will unveil the blueprint at the Tart Lumber Company, a family-owned business in Sterling, about 30 miles from the capital. Before the news conference, lawmakers will hold a round table with local small-business owners.

Aides said the House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, and other senior members of the Republican leadership would be present but would stay mostly in the background, allowing other lawmakers to lay out the agenda for reporters.

Anticipating the announcement, Democrats have assailed the Republican agenda in recent days.

“With this plan, they have made clear that they want to take America back to the same failed economic policies that caused this recession,” the White House communications director, Dan Pfeiffer, wrote in a blog post on Wednesday evening.

He added, “Their plan is also notable for what it doesn’t talk about: protecting Social Security and Medicare from privatization schemes.”

A spokesman for the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, also sharply criticized the G.O.P. agenda.

Democrats said they were interested in seeing how Republicans would vote on a bill to provide tax breaks and government-backed loans to small businesses that will be on the House floor when they return from making their announcement on Thursday afternoon.

Republicans said they did not want to wait until after the elections and would call on Ms. Pelosi to begin adopting aspects of their agenda right away.

The blueprint is divided into five chapters: a plan to create jobs and end economic uncertainty; a plan to stop out-of-control spending and reduce the size of government; a plan to repeal and replace the government takeover of health care; a plan to reform Congress and restore trust; and a plan to keep the nation secure at home and abroad.

To reform the legislative branch itself, the plan calls for cutting the budget of Congress, and for imposing new rules in the House, including requirements that all bills be posted on the Internet for three days before votes, and that all legislation include a clause “citing the specific constitutional authority upon which the bill is justified.”

The final section, “Checks and Balances,” makes an argument for ending the Democrats’ one-party control of Washington.

“We will stand committed to our principles and fight to renew the drive for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government,” the Republicans wrote, adding, “At the same time, we will serve as a check and a balance against any schemes that are inconsistent with the priorities and rights of the American people.”